Race From Oblivion
by Josh14Raider
Summary: Back to her adventuring roots, Lara Croft has been tasked to undertake a journey which may lead her to find out more than she bargained for. Will she be able to come back in one piece?
1. An Uncertain Futuristic Beginning

_Disclaimer: This is a Fanfiction Tomb Raider story. I do not own the characters originally from Tomb Raider, they belong to their respectable owners. This is just for entertainment reading._

**An Uncertain Futuristic Beginning**

'How am I going to make it out of here alive?' A quick catastrophic thought arose in Lara Croft, as her world began to collapse all around. She swiftly glanced at her surroundings, looking for a way out after having been devilishly tricked. The Ancient Egyptian temple complex, which was built underneath the sands of the Sahara Desert, had begun to shudder violently, similar to the style of a pounding earthquake. Grains of sands from above started to pour in, and Lara certainly didn't want to be buried to her death.

'There must be another way out of here!' Lara exclaimed. The entranceway to where she had been to get through here was blown to smithereens! It had seemed that there was no way out of this situation. Out of the blue, Lara caught a glimpse of eclipsing light coming from a small crack on the lower ends of the left wall. Knowing this maybe her only chance of escaping the crumbling temple, Lara hurried over to the wall on the double. Using whatever strength she had left, Lara kicked the lowly cracked wall out of proportion, forcefully causing the bricks to scatter around on the floor. Without hesitation, Lara ducked and dashed through.

Instantly, she was nearly met with the downfall of ceiling pieces, falling down at a high velocity rate. If Lara would have been hit by one of those large ceiling debris, she would have been crushed and flattened to her death! Lara did her best dodging these, but it didn't help with the falling hot sand, nearly blinding her eye sight and slowing her down. Coming across, making a quite a drop further underground, Lara now was in the chamber she had dreaded most, and unintentionally she was right in the centre of it.

Four deep slopes were supporting a middle platform, and as before, when Lara had first made her entrance into this dark hall-like room earlier, she noted that four deactivated boulders were on top of these slopes. Her Amazonian instinct warned her of danger once she had taken her first step onto the platform, and due to her rushing of trying to get out, Lara therefore soon after felt more shudders inside the temple. All four boulders had now become active and were coming down, evermore quickly gaining more speed ready to squash anything within its path. There was no hope for Lara, this was it!

'...No' and with that thought, Lara had always kept with what she had believed, and that was to never give up. Scanning round desperately, after a few heavy breathing moments, a solution had formed as she looked over to the left side of the chamber area. One of the fallen pieces from the ceiling had created a small pile of rubble, of which Lara could possibly climb upon to reach for the platform above.

'It's better than just being a sitting duck' Lara summed up, and not wanting to delay her move for any longer, she sprinted towards the built up rubble. Just missing the oncoming four boulders by a matter of a few centimetres, Lara leapt and grabbed hold of the top first rock piece that had fallen to the floor first. It was of some considerable size, and shrugging off some pebbles and sand that had plummeted from above, Lara, using her strength and rock climbing skills, started her ascent upwards.

Each rock layer that had been uneven and featured a 'stuck out' form, Lara made use of it during her climb and she managed to successfully get to the higher ground. All that was left now were the stairs leading straight up to the temple entrance. Lara began to sprint up the stairs, not looking back behind her, going as fast as her wearily legs would take her. Unbeknownst to Lara however, it won't be as simple as she thought it might have been.

All of a sudden, one of the large pillars connected to the top of the ceiling structure and the bottom of the temple began to pull to one side. Due to the semi seismic activity that was going on underneath and all around the collapsing temple, it thereafter gave up standing upright, and smashed the staircase Lara was on.

"Whoa!" Lara exclaimed, as the terrific weight of the rich hieroglyphics decorated pillar greatly damaged the stairs, and Lara almost fell off the edge of it into a dark chasm, where the shadows would consume anyone if they took plunge in. Shaken by the near fall, Lara continued her venture up the stairs, but as she got midway through, she witnessed the mass effect the pillar has had upon the diagonal self-supported steps. A huge hole was created from the stricken impact, and this would force Lara to make a big leap to get to the other side.

Under pressure, and knowing that this temple structure will not last any longer now as it was in its final stages of self destruction, Lara prepared herself for a running-jump. She stopped in her tracks when near the edge, and took a few steps back on the stairs. Lara exhaled, as the classic Egyptian temple architecture behind her was now destroyed. Before its path of obliteration reached to where she was, Lara moved swiftly, and just as her left footing got to the verge of the last step, she made an attempted jump.

Midway through the air, Lara stretched out her body along with her hands and arms reaching for the ledge of the remaining staircase. However, the newly created gap between the two stairs was wider than she expected so in turn, Lara didn't have enough momentum exerted to get to the other side!

Seeing as this may have been her last chance, Lara pushed her right arm and hand to their limits, and to her delight she managed to grab hold of the ledge. Unfortunately even though she was able to get herself over, Lara was struggling with her one hand trying to support her body hanging over the ledge. But it was not this that worried Lara as much as what she was about to see up ahead. Looking up, bits of golden sand and pebbles started to once again fall from the ceiling, though not a dangerous threat, Lara then saw what may have been her conclusion. A hefty slab became undone, and within a matter of a few seconds it would fall to where Lara was dangling. 'Blast!' Lara cursed, but after seeing these events unfold, she was now suffering a whole lot more.

The more debris that had fallen from the ceiling, the harder it was for Lara to hold onto the ledge.

'I'm...slipping...cannot...hold...on...for...much...longer...'


	2. An Unannounced Visitor at Lara's Home

**- An Unannounced Visitor at Lara's Home**

_Five Days Earlier..._

'A monkey swing here, drop down and one final sprint', Lara Croft ran through in her mind, as at 9:30AM in the morning, she carried out her exercise routines. This session normally took up to about 30 minutes, and afterwards, Lara would do a few lengths of her swimming pool, doing a mixture of front crawl and breaststroke swimming strokes. However, today she was interrupted by a sudden announcement by Winston, her long serving faithful butler and good friend.

"LARA!" Winston called out, coming into the gym, and he came underneath the ladder pillar leading up to where the monkey bars were installed on the ceiling.

"Yes Winston" Lara responded, she held on midway through the bars, looking down and seeing Winston, with arms behind his back ready to say something important.

"You have a caller at the door, asking for you urgently. He said that it was a business proposition that you can't miss out on" Winston explained to Lara.

"Did he say what his name was, or is he anybody we know or heard of?" asked Lara.

"Nope, he just said that he wanted to meet you personally. I've told him to wait in the guest dining room for you" Winston told her.

"Okay Winston, thanks very much, keep an eye on him and I won't be long in the shower" said Lara.

Winston nodded in agreement with her, and left the gym. Lara safely dropped down from the monkey bars and made her way down. She rubbed off the sweat with her fitness towel, and went upstairs to her room. Going straight into her bathroom and turning her shower value to a quite hot setting. Questions ran though her thought process, as she proceeded in entering her shower area. 'Who could that visitor be?' and 'What would he want with me?'

Just before she had finished with the shower, Lara had thought of a possible answer to the reason of this stranger's visit. 'Maybe there is a special artefact that needs to be collected' she thought. Lara relished the possibility of going onto another adventure, the feeling of exploring and discovering long buried secrets and treasures is unbelievable. This thrilling hobby was indeed her undeniable passion, and most of the time, it rewarded her with an experience of a lifetime.

Lara had put on some casual clothes, and started her way down the stairs of her mansion into the guest meeting room, eager to meet up with the unexpected caller. She opened the door leading in, and there she had spotted him sitting on the arm chair, alongside with a midnight black briefcase, no doubt full of important paperwork. Further examining the guest, he wore a cream yellow full matching suit with a red tie, fitting in with his jet black hair and piercing frozen blue eyes. His hand soon swung out as he saw Lara entering the room.

"Ah Ms. Croft, sorry for the unannounced visit, but I could not wait any longer to get into contact with you!" The unknown guest began. Confused, Lara went over and shook his hand, wanting to ask one simple question.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Lara asked the smartly dressed stranger. He quickly clapped his hands.

"Tut! Where are my manners, my name is Martin Undergreen, and I'm here representing a very important client, who has a proposal for you." Martin had stated. He sat down opposite Lara, and brought out his briefcase onto the table.

"Who's this client, and what do they need me for?" Lara questioned Martin, surprised that the client hadn't come in person themselves.

"The client is someone who has been in the news headlines recently, you must have heard of Eric Copper Ms. Croft?"

"...Yes, now that name does ring a bell, do you mean the one who is the chairman of that successful corporation, which had a lot of bad press in the past?"

"Those were just pure made up journalism tales and rumours. Of course the Green Copper Industrial Corporation prides itself in being one of the most sustainable, environmentally and friendliest workplaces in the world. Thanks to the quickening growth of the business over the years, it has made Mr. Copper into one very rich man, and now he wants to spread his wealth through charity and philanthropy. He is if I do say so myself, one very remarkable man Ms. Croft." Continued Martin

"If you say so Martin, but what does he want with me? What is the main reason for your arrival?" asked a puzzled Lara.

"Ah, just getting onto that point Ms. Croft. You see our business goals have taken a bit of a different direction from before. At the moment, we still dig up raw materials like fossil fuels or metals, and then sell them on to companies all around the world, that's where our main profit figure comes from. But in recent years, Mr. Copper decided to create a new department in the company. Only this particular one was dedicated into researching unknown findings dug up from our sites. Some of these items were in a matter of days identified as rare minerals, but they weren't really anything special, until just last week where a new alien-like material was discovered." Martin clarified. He got some paper work, quickly shuffled through it looking for the page he wanted to show Lara. An annotated diagram came into view, and Martin handed the piece of paper over to Lara. She closely examined the photograph taken of the material, taking notice of all the written dialogue around the photo. For the first time in a while Lara was speechless of what she had been looking at.

"Fascinating...isn't it." Martin softly spoke, filling in the silence of the room.

"Indeed, it looks to be a very unique substance, but where on earth did you find this? Do you know of its origins or where it has come from?"

"We can only answer that if you are prepared to work for us. Our reliable sources have told us you're the right person to contact about this kind of new challenge."

"So you done your homework on me, what are you asking me to do?" replied Lara.

"Take a look at these pictures" Martin responded, handing over even more files from his briefcase to Lara. Lara scanned each one, each of the exhibit photographs showed quite grotesque pictures of victims been caught in ancient set-up traps. The area that they were in was a vast dark place, with not much to feature but the outline of an underground dug up tunnel. Lara thought no doubt that this area was the place where the unidentifiable material was found.

"As you can see and probably guessed Ms. Croft, these pictures show the site of where we found this material. However, our attempts to delve even deeper into the complex to find out what mysteries can be uncovered have all ended in the misery of failure. We need you Ms. Croft, with your expertise and experience in the field, to avoid these vicious traps that have killed off many of our loyal staff and close partners. Next you would explore and report what you find down there and bring back any samples that may be of some important significance. In return, we will reward you a once in a lifetime experience in coming part of the research team and you get to keep any artefacts you may come across! So how about it Ms. Croft, are you up to the challenge of uncovering one of Earth's hidden mysteries?"

Lara thought for a few seconds, until her answer came out quite promptly.

"Okay, I'm up for a bit of an adventuring, where am I headed for and what do you know so far about this unknown material?"

"We will be flying you out to India. This is where one of our sites in the jungle unearthed the breakthrough, and unfortunately where it led to the many mishaps, which we try to keep all hushed up. So far, our research team have only found out a tiny amount of data on the material. Apparently, it has a living cell structure, similar to those found on us human beings and plants. But from the sample, all the shapes of the cells are not identical to each other, so we will await further results from testing."

"Fair enough, so when is the date I set off then?" Lara inquired very excitedly.


	3. Arriving At The Airport

**-Arriving at the airport**

"Today is the day you set off on your exhibition to India, isn't it Lara?" Winston announced from the main hall as Lara was walking up the staircase.

"It is indeed Winston. I'll be collected from here about lunchtime by their company car" Lara answered her faithful butler, looking towards his direction, and noticing him not being his usual self before Lara would set off in her previous adventures. He seemed to act a bit...different...more concerned...

"You seem tense, Winston, what's wrong?" Lara worryingly quizzed her long serving friendly butler.

"Please Lara, come back in one piece, I would hate the thought of losing you" Winston gave his reasoning, looking at Lara to see what she would say in reaction to his warning.

"Don't worry about me Winston. I make my own luck getting out of tough situations, and I have dealt with past experiences and adversaries. If these people even try and betray me, they'll get another thing coming at them. Thanks for your concern, and I will take care of myself" Lara reassured Winston, as he nodded in agreement with her statement.

"Okay Lara, have you got everything ready and sorted for your journey?"

Lara had doubled checked that she had got everything required for another daring adventure. This included:

Her 9mm dual gun metal pistols with holsters and clips.

Her backpack with the essentials including 2 Small Medi-Packs and 1 large one.

Wearing her favourite jungle outfit, this comprised of a green tank top, her long serving light brown backpack, khaki shorts, boots and a buckled belt.

Lunchtime came around and right on schedule, somebody rung the doorbell beside the door at Lara's home. Just as Lara was finishing off packing for what she would need, Winston answered the door. However, it was no taxi driver that had rung the doorbell. Instead Winston had to look up to the face of the person to recognise who it was.

"Hang on one second. You're Mr Eric Copper, aren't you?" Winston said in complete awe shock.

"...Why Yes, how did you recognise me with these sunglasses on?" Eric Copper responded with a gleaming smile on his face.

"You've been on the news recently, and I saw your picture for one of the richest business owners in the world, even with your sunglasses on, you're instantly recognisable" Winston explained to him.

"I see...Is Ms. Croft present? We are here to pick her up" Eric Copper questioned the proud butler.

"Yes, please come on in, she won't be long" Winston welcomed in the gracious business guest into Lara's home.

Eric Copper took his first step into Lara's home, and waited for her arrival down the stairs. He did certainly admire the cleanliness of her home, and all the artwork hung up on the walls. In his area of interest, he was particularly interested in human characteristics, and in a way, he was looking forward to meeting Lara Croft. Seeing what kind of person she was like, definitely intrigued him the first time he researched her, and he knew he had to take an immediate opportunity to meet her in person.

Ensured that she had everything needed for her little adventure, Lara made her way to the stairs, expecting to see a taxi driver waiting in the hallway. Instead, Lara saw a large built up man wearing a white tuxedo coat, with matching trousers, wearing smart sunglasses and a cane. He proudly wore a top hat also, taking it off with the sunglasses as Lara entered her large hall. Lara was instantly taken off-guard by the sudden unexpected appearance.

"Ms. Croft I Presume" Eric Copper started, with his hand out ready to greet Lara with a handshake.

"Yes, you must be Mr Copper" Lara shook his hand, still surprised that he had taken the time to meet her in person.

"Indeed Ms Croft, a pleasure to finally meet you"

"Likewise"

"Have you got your gear and equipment ready for the trip?"

"Certainly do, I'm ready when you are!"

"Excellent, right this way, you'll be travelling in luxury to the destination. First we will drive to the closet airport in the area, and then our plane will take us to India, to where our unfortunate accidents have taken place."

Eric Copper allowed Lara to step forward ahead of him, as she exited her home, she was greeted by a limousine driver whom parked the car just outside in the garden grounds, and opened the vehicle door for her.

"Hello Ms. Croft, please hop in" The driver signalled to Lara.

"Thanks"

Lara along with Eric Copper hopped inside the limousine, and with one last glance at her home, Winston was standing outside waving them off as the limousine sprung into life and drove away from Lara's house. The car began to speed up once it got out of the grounds and onto the roads, heading for the closet airport housing Mr. Copper's private aeroplane. Lara was treated to some champagne during the journey alongside

"Do you like the Champagne Ms Croft? It's of a rare variety that only a few can buy for its exquisite taste, I thought I might bring it for this special occasion".

"Yes I am certainly enjoying it. By the way call me Lara for this trip, Mr Copper"

"Very well, Lara, I've gotten too used to formalities over the years as a business man, therefore you can call me Eric if you'd like"

"Okay...Eric, do you have any more information that I may need to know?"

"Well, we know Martin has debriefed most of the relevant information to you, currently we're right on track to arrive in India around 5.00PM in the afternoon. We will begin our expedition into the mine shaft and its ancient active puzzling booby traps tomorrow. Nearby the site, there is a hotel to which most of the members of this small project excavation are staying. We too will be staying there, and you will be teamed up with a partner once we reach our destination. Your partner will be the one travelling with you down to the mine shaft, and they would be your support and backup while you are down there". Eric Copper explained to her in a calm tone.

"Who's going to be my partner, what's their name?"

"That information I do not know yet, but we'll see when we arrive...ah there's the airport..."

The limousine went straight through security as the driver notified the patrol of the airport that his special passenger was the rich business man, Mr. Eric Copper and they were going to drive to the airport hanger, so they could directly head for Mr. Copper's private jet. The driver then gave the standing guard some identification, verifying that he was indeed transporting Mr Copper to his private jet, the guard allowed the driver to precede forward. The limousine drove to outside the airport hanger to where Mr. Copper's private airplane was stored. The driver then parked up, exited the car and opened the car door for his passengers. Both Lara and Eric stepped out, and immediately Eric led the way to the hanger.

Lara took a good look around the field especially over to the terminals, where she had expected it to be busy as it usually would be, but today that wasn't the case. Through the pane glass windows, Lara only saw one or two people standing across there, over viewing the scenery of the airport field. She soon turned her attention away from the terminals, to a newly opened up hanger, revealing a luxury private jet, exclusively used by Eric Copper for business arrangements.

"So Lara, what do you think of my private jet, magnificent isn't she?"

"Yes, she looks fabulous, how long have you had this for?"

"Realistically, this will be the first time I've used this airplane, so without further ado, shall we be getting ready for take-off?"

"Ready when you are!" Lara declared, raring to go for her new adventure.

"Excellent, hop on aboard Lara!" Eric gestured towards his private jet.


	4. Travelling To India

**-Travelling to India**

The stairs of the luxury private jet mechanically unfolded, allowing the passengers to come on-board. When Lara took her first steps inside the cabin, she was astounded by the amount of available space inside. Since she was mainly used to a somewhat crowded interior, it was pleasant having the luxury to travel in style.

"Do you like it Lara, all of this is state of the art equipment, only the best money can afford" boasted Eric Copper, as he sat down in a massive throne type of seat that was proudly installed in a dominant like position in the aircraft.

Lara nodded in agreement, noting that during the whole time she had spent with him, he had been trying to impress her or showing off what he can obtain. Why is that? Could that just be what his overall personality was like? She had no interest whatsoever in what he had in his possession, and to be honest she wasn't immensely impressed. Lara knew he could afford what he likes, so she just had to play along, and not to be rude or get him upset. 'That could spoil the adventure and the new discovery' Lara thought, as Mr. Copper signalled Lara to sit opposite him. She saw the crew readying to serve drinks.

"Please take a seat Ms. Croft. We will be taking off shortly after the pre flight checks, would you like a drink?" he informed and asked her, as Lara sat down opposite to him.

"No thanks, I'm alright at the moment" Lara answered.

"Very well, a martini for me please" Eric Copper ordered one of the crew members, and in a flash of a second, an half a glass of martini was in his hand.

The minutes flew by, as more people surprisingly joined Lara and Eric Copper onboard. Eric stood up as these smartly dressed suited people came into the cabin, greeting Mr. Copper and then turned their attention towards Lara. She felt quite out of place, as not only did they all knew and were acquainted to one another, but also what she wore differed greatly to what they were wearing. 'Doesn't matter, there was no dress code in the invitation' Lara thought, as she scanned the new arrivals. There were five of them, three male while two were female, all giving Lara a good sharp stare, briefly examining her before Eric Copper suddenly interrupted them.

"Lara Croft, I would like to introduce you to my executive board of directors at Green Copper Industrial Corporation. First we have Jennifer Brown. She has been the managing director of the corporation for around 10 years, mainly being in charge of management for me. Next we have Matthew Corbin, leader of the technology division at the company. The department has been using our technologies extensively to find out the potential of what this uncovered specimen has. It is indeed extraordinary, nothing we've ever seen before, and amazingly we're the only company to have knowledge of this material!"

Lara quickly shook hands with the two, before Eric Copper moved onto the next person explaining their role within the company.

"This is Sarah Baritone, she is my personal assistant. In actual fact, she was the one who organised this gathering and persuaded me to come onboard to India. Now this fellow chap is David Underwood, he is a great investor of the company and has been since day one! Finally we have Tim Lampshire, leader of research and development at the company. He was the one whom started this whole project of researching this new material, so you won't be reporting to me directly. Instead you will be reporting to one of his associates, which will then get back to him and after that he will relay the information to me." Eric Copper clarified to Lara.

As before, Lara shook hands with the remaining directors. In the back of her perspective mind Lara thought, 'there was more to this than meets the eye'. From Lara herself, they were obviously expecting great results from her, and for her to be successful and to uncover more from what is beneath the mine. There was no other explanation... why else would the directors be joining them on the flight to India.

The two engines on both sides began to start up, with the captain of the jet announcing over the communications speaker to put the seat belts on during take-off. The plane began to move out onto the field from the hanger, making its way to the long track to where it will gain further ground. Once it reached the strip, the engines as expected came into life, and the roaring acceleration from them transferred to the wheels of the plane, as the jet speeded up. Near the end of the long path, it began to lift and with its top end nose pointing diagonally to the sky. They were going for a good 8 hour and 41 minute flight, and wouldn't be landing in India till 3:25AM in their time zone as they were 4:30 hours ahead in the UK.

It certainly was a strange one time flight experience for Lara, as there was nothing but silence for the first hour. No conversations whatsoever between the directors, not even the captain was speaking over the communications speaker. Then, just after an hour, the directors including Eric Copper told Lara that they were going to hold a private meeting in the other room, and saying that they won't be long. This left Lara bored, as the only entertainment in the cabin was the elevator-esque type of music, which was continuously playing in the background. She thought of trying to go sleep, but it was still too early for that yet. 'Wish I brought a book now' Lara jokingly reflected. There was really nothing to do...Unless...

Lara started looking all around the cabin especially the ceiling, just in case she was being monitored by a hidden camera... She didn't see anything from where she was. Lara stood up and wandered in the small space, watching out for any system scanning her movements. 'Better to be safe than sorry' Lara reassured herself. She couldn't find anything of the sort, so she moved towards the door, deciding since there was nothing to do she might as well eavesdrop on the meeting.

That way she may be able to discover their true intentions and found out what they could be doing with her at India. Lara knew that all this was too good to be true. They must have an ulterior motive of what they were planning to do. Given that Lara didn't have any gear useful for listening in on the meeting, the only thing she was capable of doing was pressing her ear against the wall splitting up the two separate cabins. Lara did her best to hear out what was said...

She heard the recognisable voice of Eric Copper speaking out at that moment, addressing the members in a professional manner. Though Lara couldn't fully make out what he was saying thanks to the reinforced wall.

"Until Ms. Croft... Retrieves...Then...No...How...What...Research...Who...Partner" Lara caught of the broken conversation. She next heard another voice, this one was female, and so it could have either been Jennifer Brown or Sarah Baritone.

"The...In...Position...We...Hotel...Phoned...Informed...Trouble...Dispose..." She was able to hear. 'What on earth are they talking about?' Lara considered the possibilities, not liking the ideas she thought of. Until yet again the proud voice of Eric Copper filled the meeting room.

"Okay...Sarah...We...Instructions...Hope...Ms. Croft...Declare...Meeting...Over...Next...Schedule..."

That was when she next heard footsteps heading for the door. 'Blast!' Lara cursed and rushed back as swiftly as she can back to her seat on the other side. On time, the door swung open and with a board smile on his face, Eric Copper reappeared along with his associates. They re-entered the cabin, and sat down in the seats they were previously sat in before they had their little meeting.

"Sorry about that Lara, as you know business affairs are kept confidential and we couldn't include you in it. If we were talking about you, of course we would have called you to be involved too." Eric Copper stated to Lara, and she nodded in agreement.

This was the first lie Lara heard from Eric Copper's mouth. The more she heard from these people, the more suspicious she became of them.

"Oh, it's starting to get a little late. I think I'm going to turn in for the flight" Eric Copper suddenly changed the topic, whilst yawning out aloud.

"Same here" Sarah declared...

"Me too" David followed on, as he gave out a huge yawn...

"I think I am as well" Matthew stated, rubbing his eyes...

"Well it sounds like we all are going for a snooze. Lara, how about you?" Eric Copper asked Lara.

"Yeah might as well, we'll land there quite early won't we?" Lara inquired.

"Indeed, okay I'll show you to your quarters. You see the best thing about this remarkable jet is that we all have our private areas onboard, so if you like to follow me Lara." Eric Copper gestured, as he led the way.

Lara followed Eric Copper through the corridor of the jet, overlooking how many separate cabins there was. It was an impressive way the jet was set out inside, Lara hadn't seen anything like it before. They reached to the end of the plane, and Eric Copper gave the keys to the small cabin to Lara.

"Here you go Lara, if you need anything, do not hesitate and ask one of the crew members. Okay I'm off bed too, so I'll say good night to you Lara. We'll wake you up when we are close to India"

"Okay, thank you, good night Eric" Lara said, and with that, Eric Copper left Lara alone in the corridor, outside her private cabin. She put in the given key into the hole, turned and entered. It was a cute little cabin, with just having enough room to manoeuvre around a bit. Her bags were inside too, so after a small tour around and Lara getting herself accustomed to the tiny space, she slipped into bed. A whole notion of alternative thinking ideas came into Lara's mind as she reflected her opinions of what she briefly heard during their meeting, and her initial impressions of the directors.

One thing was for sure...Lara didn't trust any of them. However she would just play her part for the time being and see what happens the next day. Her first impressions could after all just be her being wary. With that trail of thought, Lara drifted off into her sleep, knowing she may need her strength for what tomorrow may bring.


	5. Meeting The Mysterious Partner

**-Meeting the Mysterious Partner**

Knock! Knock!

"Lara, we'll be landing very soon, it's time to get up!" Lara heard the strong voice of Eric Copper outside her private little cabin, as she awoke from her slumber.

"Okay, I'll be out in 5 minutes" Lara replied. In that second, she clambered out of bed and got herself ready. She came out to the corridor, looking out through the rectangular/oval shaped window. It was quite dark, with morning still yet to break out all around. A mixture of whisper clouds floating in the mid-air sky and the beaming lights were underneath the plane and upon the city land. It was a lovely view... Lara could have just stared at it for a long time, just letting her imagination fly by. But now wasn't the time, so Lara began walking along the small internal walkway of the jet, wondering when they actually were going to land.

"Ah Lara, you're here, please take a seat and get buckled up, I think the pilot is going to announce any minute that we're going to land" Eric Copper gestured to Lara in the direction of a empty seat.

Right on cue, the speaker came into life with the voice of the jet pilot.

"Ladies and Gentleman, this is the captain pilot of the flight, we're just about to make our descent into Shimla airport, so can everyone can get their seat belts on please.

The same as before taking-off and during the first hour of the journey, everyone remained silent as nothing but the rumble of the engines were only heard. They soon glided down onto the long winding track, with the brakes put on sharply to grind the jet into a more suitable slower speed. The jet parked up in a private hanger, opened up ready and expecting to receive the airplane.

With all safety and checking procedures underway, the passengers had to stay where they were and each to be given a scan check by the local security control. During this time, Lara took a long stare through the jet window she was sitting nearby. Looking through, Lara was astonished by the incredible landscape view. The airport with the landing strip was upon a mountain top. Shimla Airport is located in Himachal Pradesh, to which Shimla is the capital city of. Lara gazed into the beauty of the city, as a whole mixture of different types of vegetation alongside with built up areas such as housing and both commercial and private buildings. Each was either upon a mountain/hill slope or a flat surface. In fact the area is close to the Himalayas mountain range, so snowfall happens during the winter time, around December to February.

Once the checks had been in the clear, the passengers of the flight had taken their first steps into the early morning climate of Shimla. From exiting the aircraft, the warm humid tropical -like temperature hit and took them by initial surprise, as they were use to the cooler climate in the United Kingdom. Two posh 4x4 vehicles were parked nearby the terminal, ready to pick them up once they exited the private jet. Lara, Eric and Sarah entered one car, whilst the others went in the other one. Immediately as everyone got seated into the cars, the drivers roared their engines to life, and they sped away from the airport. To where they were heading, Lara did not know.

On the journey to the unknown destination, Lara took the time yet again to observe and take in the scenery all around them. This is one of the things Lara loved about going out and exploring the world on her adventures, she gets to see everywhere and embrace the environment and culture of different places. Not forgetting to meet various amazing people, who help and support her during her ventures and even become long time friends with her. The carved twisting roads on the mountainous top gave the two drivers a good challenge on their driving abilities, but they were able to maintain a good pace neither without hesitating once nor without any delay.

"So Lara, what are your first impressions on Shimla?" Eric inquired out of the blue.

"Well, this looks to be a spectacular city. I was overlooking from the aeroplane, and was impressed at the geographical landscape of the region. I hope we delve further and have a little wander around and into the city. What's your view?" Lara wondered, seeing Eric Copper watching the calm environment out of the car window.

"Yes, it is a beautiful place. I've only visited here once for a relational business meeting, but I went around the neighbourhood to where our meeting was held, and the atmosphere of the area was very nice. I thoroughly enjoyed my last visit, and hope to do the same this time around."

Lara nodded at Eric Copper's explanation, and soon after another question was aimed at her, this time Lara felt that Eric Copper was more interested in this answer more than the previous one.

"Lara, I've got a question for you, what do you aim for in life? You know, what are your hopes and dreams? " A curious Eric Copper asked Lara. For sure he was fascinated to hear what her answer would be.

"Now that is a good question, I love solving the mystery of a puzzle and being rewarded with an historic hidden artefact at the end. For me life is one huge adventure, discovering ancient civilisations and uncovering deep secrets that have been hiding for centuries. I am indeed lucky to have such opportunity to experience these moments, and also doing what I have a passion for, which is archaeology and globetrotting around the world...How about you?"

"Haha that's interesting, you do have a unique way about you Lara. For me personally I will answer for when we next meet, since we are close to our destination now" Chuckled Eric Copper, as the car made its final turn heading through a medium sized gateway.

They arrived at the hotel to where the Green Copper Industrial Corporation had owned and operated it. This was also where the team that had uncovered this new finding, and incidentally this was going to be the place where Lara was going to meet her partner during the mine exploration.

Each one walked into the entrance of the grand hotel. It was very elegant, with decor and stunning objects filling the glossy entrance hall. It was quite crowded, as most were employees all ready to welcome in the main boss and the directors of the corporation. A familiar person was already in Lara's sight, as they came over to greet them.

"Now Lara, I believe this will be your partner for your expedition in the mine, sorry what is your name again?" Eric Copper asked the lady, as Lara was shocked of who it was.

"Hello my name is Ayesha, it is a pleasure to meet you" Ayesha charmingly said, as she shook Eric Copper's hand and then onto Lara's hand.

"Ah yes that's right, Ayesha this is Lara, she will be joining you in your journey into our recently discovered mine. I'll leave you two to get acquainted with each other, as I just need to make a few arrangements. I won't be long." With that sentence, Eric Copper dashed off elsewhere, leaving the two alone. Little did he know however that this wasn't the first time the duo had met. When he left, both Lara and Ayesha hugged each other, having not seen one another since Lara left the hospital prior to the incident during their last adventure together.

"Ha fancy seeing you here. It's nice to see you again Ayesha, what a coincidence that you are the partner that they've all been talking about since I got here." Lara delightfully said, still pleasantly surprised seeing one of her good friends.

"Yes Lara same here, nobody told me that you were the person who was coming with me, how did this come about?" Ayesha quickly questioned Lara, wanting to know the details.

"I had an unannounced visitor coming at my home, and they'd explained the situation to me. From then on I couldn't resist the invitation to find out more, and here I am now. How did you get into the fold too?" Lara enlightened Ayesha, as she began to clarify to why she was there too.

"Well, it began a few days ago, where the corporation were looking for volunteers to help out for their search. Knowing that this area has a lot of history to uncover, I'd decided to join in to see what mysteries lay deep within the mine." Ayesha explained to her.

"Cool, do you know when we'll set off to the site?" Lara quizzed Ayesha, wanting to know if she knew the answer.

"Indeed, any second now actually, that's the current schedule I know at this time" Ayesha replied, nearly laughing at the sheer amazement Lara's facial expression had given out.

"What! That's quick! I've only just got here!" Lara silently exclaimed. She only just arrived, yet they were very keen to unravel what is buried underneath the site.

"I know, but they are eager to get going, you should know that the moral of this company is 'speed is of the essence'. Not to worry though, the sites' only a few miles from here. It's only about a twenty minute drive." Ayesha debriefed Lara. Within that second Ayesha noticed Lara's tone changed for when she next spoke.

"Okay Ayesha, can I quickly ask you something?" Lara asked her good friend, wanting to know something desperately before they would embark in the mine.

"Sure" Ayesha was ready for Lara's question, confused by why she'd turned more serious on the change of topic.

"Have you found anything..." At that moment, Lara's sentence was instantly cut off by the sudden presence of Eric Copper...

"Ah I see you are getting along very well. We are all ready to visit the site, Lara, Ayesha, are you prepared to see what awaits for you down in that mine?" Eric Copper asked the two ladies, as they looked at each other smilingly, knowing what each other was going to say to that question.

"We are!" they excitingly said together.

"Excellent, let's get moving then, onward and forward we go" Eric Copper enthusiastically announced, as they made their way from the hotel and into the parked cars just outside. The drivers had set course for their next destination, each one following the lead car in front of them onto the main road. They were heading for the Jungle, to where the discovery was made through unknown seasoned ruins...


	6. Discovered Ruins In The Jungle

**-Discovered Ruins In The Jungle**

The 4x4 all terrain cars steered a sharp turn to the right upon the hill, causing a few honks from the horns of the traffic behind them as they had not expected that sudden move. They were speeding along into the very depths of the jungle that lay before them. Lara could see the shroud of trees bearing as the entrance to this forest; however a path was paved out especially for the oncoming vehicles. Twigs and rocks were the only barriers against the cars, but they were equipped with reinforced bumpers and windows, so not even a scratch was made to either the window pane or the paint work of the car.

Along with Ayesha, both she and Lara pointed out quite few wildlife rarities above and below in the wilderness. Eric Copper witnessed in awe of the knowledge of his two adventurers, as they called out in astonishment of what they saw.

"Over there Lara! I saw an adult Brahminy Kite breed flying over the canopies of the forest, what a beautiful eagle it is to look upon, with its lush red wings and white head and body."

"Oh yes I just spotted it, good find! And look towards here Ayesha! There I found a male Indian Peafowl (Peacock) gazing at us in shock and surprise, and quickly walking in the other direction. It was a magnificent pheasant to see, as you know with the divine deep colours."

"Ah yes I just caught glimpse of it, it is a lovely breed of bird" Ayesha replied to Lara.

Eric Copper just smiled as he knew they would make a strong team when entering the dangers that lay ahead, for their passions had been near of the same. Only he secretly knew that a far great challenge will endeavour them in the mines, and why should he care if they don't come out alive. He could just find others as willing as this pair. But he would not haste, for he also didn't want to waste time finding others, he wanted Lara and Ayesha to find out what is long been hidden under the dugout mines. Then with one final whip of a turn at the wheel, they came to an arena-type of place full of tents and workmanship tools.

At once the cars came to a halt, parked just outside these high standing yellow tents. Then came the remaining workforce whom under the employee of Eric Copper, some came out of the tents while others who'd carried on mining for their new discovery came out to greet their employer. All of the directors that came with them stood beside Eric Copper has he began his grand speech to his workforce.

"Good Afternoon all, to you I give my appreciation for your determination and your hard work that you have done for me. Even though we lost a few, you still keep your heads held high and for that I thank you, and let us respect those who have fallen!"

There came thunderous applause for the speech. But alas, Eric Copper had not finished yet, and he waved them to be silent.

"I bring with me Ayesha Christensen, expert in the field of technology and also having a love for exploring new terrains. With her is Lara Croft, raised in an aristocrat background, she turned to adventuring, and from then on has had a passion for archaeology and gained much experience in difficult and demanding situations. These will be the two that will go and find what is hidden underground and why it is so secure that it is able to kill any trespasser. I have no doubt at what they'll hopefully unravel will be incredible and worthy of our time. Let us not wonder any longer, get Lara and Ayesha prepared, equipped and debriefed ready to enter the ruins" proudly shouted Eric Copper to his employees.

"Yes sir!" They roared all together, and with that Eric directed the two over to one of his leaders on the site. He shook hands with him and turned towards Lara and Ayesha.

"I'm afraid I won't be sticking around for long, as I have another meeting to which I need to attend to in the hotel, I will be back very soon to see how it is all progressing. So I will leave you two in the capable hands of the team leader here. So I give you good luck and take care down there. Farewell!" With that last sentence, Eric Copper along with the rest of the directors headed off back into the cars, and immediately they accelerated out of the woods.

"Hello Lara and Ayesha, my name is Tom, and as the boss as said, I'm the team leader here, covering this area, can you follow me please" Tom politely said.

They followed Tom to one of the huge yellow tents. Inside a single long table was set out with a full range of gear, maps, a mixture of weaponry and technology available. Tom took a glance at Lara's holsters, spotting that already she had been armed with her pistols.

"Ha, I see you're already equipped with dual 9mm pistols Lara, so looks like you were already prepared for this from the beginning." Tom said laughing.

"Ha, Indeed I never leave on an adventure without them!" Lara replied, giving him a cheeky smile. Tom then turned and picked up a rather exotic weapon for Lara.

"For a secondary weapon Ms. Croft, we have this crossbow with some arrows and a laser sight attached. This is perfect for where precision matters in certain situations, use it well for the arrows are in short supply. Finally, you will just need these then; here we have just in case a rope and straps, if there should be any sort of climbing involved, also take this radio and torch."

"Thanks, these may come in handy" Lara said with a warm smile, and proceeded to attach the straps onto her body as well as the crossbow and accessories too. Tom then turned his attention on Ayesha, and brought out a handgun, radio, rope and straps and also some electronic equipment for her.

"Ayesha, for you I have this single .45 calibre pistol, a high end GPS with many features, also same as Lara, some rope and straps. Here you go!" He handed the kit over to Ayesha, as she checked out the GPS device with fascination.

"Finally for the both of you, to keep you alert and on your toes, we would be rude not to give you some water to take with you whilst you're down there. Here..."

Tom handed over four bottles of water, two each for the duo.

"Right you ready to go? You've got the equipment and I'll tell you on the way what we have uncovered so far" Tom explained.

"Yep okay, lead the way" Ayesha gestured for Tom to get ahead of them.

They headed out of the tent, and onto the pathway through into where the offline machinery lies. Passing by a few members of the workforce along the way, Tom began to speak once again.

"We've been waiting for you, these machines now cannot function properly underground anymore, and we really need to figure out why. Why cannot these high end, strong, reliable machines operate as they should when they reach a certain level in the mine. Now I'm not really a believer in magic or curses, but something is going on here, and hopefully you could tell us the answer when you get down there."

"Believe me Tom, me and Ayesha have seen our fair share of strange events that were surreal to our eyes, and it was all real." Lara said, and just then she saw Tom's eyes flashed.

"Oh right, you both know each other very well then, even before this little event, that's interesting, we were briefed that the company had got two complete strangers who didn't know each other". Tom enlightened the pair.

"Yep, we've had a few adventures with each other in the past, most with surprises in store for us. I'm sure this one would be no exception" Ayesha happily said, nodding over towards Lara's direction.

"Ah all sounds good, well here it is... this is what we have dug so far; it goes down quite a bit. Be very careful, a few of my team had gone down there as you know, and not one has ever gone back up. So this is where I leave you, I'll be in contact by radio, so good luck, and take care.

"We will. Thanks, we'll see you when we get back up!"

Tom left them there, and steadily Lara and Ayesha entered the dark hole that was the entrance to the mine. Straight away as they were submitted into nothing but darkness around them, they had their torches on to shine the way through. Walking along had been difficult, the ground was not stable at all, and one simple trip could mean the end of their lives. Warily and cautiously they continued forward, making effective use of the torches of looking for any sort of trap that can be sprung any giving moment.

Progress was made very well, and soon they were halfway through the dugout section. It was at that second that Ayesha spotted a decaying skeleton on the shallow muddy floor.

"Oh dear, Lara look over there! I think we are close to where the traps are placed for intruders"

"Rest in peace..." Ayesha softly spoke, and they had fallen into silence for a minute, until Lara tapped Ayesha's shoulder.

"Come on Ayesha, we need to move on".

As they carried on through the unwelcoming mine, it had become more unpleasant the further they got deeper. Lara then halted Ayesha still, to which she was in surprise from the action.

"What is it Lara?" she asked her friend.

"Can you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"That's it, utter silence, it's not right..."

Suddenly out of the blue, Lara shouted to Ayesha with an echo across the dugout hole...

"DUCK!"

A dirty concealed blade out of nowhere swung outwards, if it hadn't been for Lara's instinct, they would not have breathed or be up standing anymore.

"Whew! I did not expect that, Lara you saved us!"

"Yes, but there would be more, look over there!

They saw more bodies having been struck down by the vicious traps, and not a living person was among them. Both Lara and Ayesha looked down and again silence was upon them. Lara took a glance at Ayesha, and saw she started to doubt about this adventure.

"Lara... how are we going to make it through?"

"There will be a way, there's always is"

"What happens if there isn't a way forward?"

"Well...We can always turn back"

With that dreaded thought, they continued on, avoiding any mishaps or traps along the way, that were either designed to slice the intruders, or cut them where it wouldn't allow them to walk any further. The more they went on; the hole at which they were going through had gotten smaller and smaller, until they reached a dead end.

"Blast, what do we do?"

"Hang on, I've got a scanner on this GPS device, I can determine whether it is a thick or thin wall. If it is the latter, we might have a chance!"

Ayesha got out her device and with the scanner function, she checked the wall. A sudden beep came from the GPS, and with gladness on her facial expression, Ayesha turned to Lara to deliver good news to her.

"Lara this wall is shallow, so I think if we can both kick it down together, it would break away" Ayesha described.

"Cool, let's do it!" Lara gave a thumb up to Ayesha, and then both positioned themselves in front of the wall.

"1...2...3...Now!"

An almighty force came crashing upon the wall, and immediately with the shock from two strong individual boots, the wall came away, revealing a built dome like room with underground contents everywhere.

Finally they reached a checkpoint. Their torches were still shining bright, they scanned the vast entranceway into something that hasn't been explored or inhabited for centuries. The entrance was obscure and murky, using huge wooden gates and a banner that was previously etched, but now it was impossible to see what was written due to age.

"Lara, I think this is it!"

"Yes, from the looks of this, it does, I wonder what mysteries we can unravel through here, and it looks like no one has been down here for many, many years."

"Well then, let's go!"


	7. The Lost City Of Mystiaja

**-The Lost City Of Mystiaja**

"Oh My..." Lara and Ayesha gasped, as they looked on in shock awe of what they were seeing in front of their eyes. Speechless at the mere underground sight, that either should have crushed or collapsed on its own due to wear and tear from age. What they just saw was a huge underground sphere dome, and within this stood decaying buildings, ruins of old and what was left of a lost forgotten city. They were standing on the cliff of this amazing discovery...

"Wow! I would never have guessed, now this could be one tale that could be true from what we are seeing now!" Ayesha excitedly said, as she was flickering through her GPS device.

"What's that Ayesha, what have you found out!?" Lara went over to Ayesha's side, intrigued to know what her partner found out. Ayesha began to explain her reaction...

"Apparently, there was a myth or tale that has been told down through the generations of a city that had been buried by a storm from the mountains. As the story tells on here, there once was a city called Mystiaja, which thrived with glory and peace, basically the people roamed and lived free peaceful lives. However one day out of nowhere, the dark clouds began to form over the city, covering the whole city, and from that aggressive thunder began to strike. But not only did the thunder hit upon the city, but also the mountains of the Himalayas too, which of course this city was near to. There came a powerful blow upon the rocky mountainside, and too many pieces of huge rock began to fall on the city, they were to be doomed! Now there lived an old strange magician who wasn't native to the city and had the ability of summoning creatures upon the hilltop, he used to pray in the temple here and kept good relations with the local people of the city. Obviously not wanting to see his beloved city go to obliteration, he used all his might, power and even in the process of sacrificing himself, he summoned a mythical eternal beast to create a barrier around the city. Many people of the city witnessed this act and as the beast grew they saw the old wizard beginning to perish away, until finally he disappeared out of sight and light shone around the city. As the huge boulders from the mountain nearly fell on the city, the barrier was fully formed and shielded the city from oblivion. From this selfless act, the summoned guardian succeeded in protecting the city from chaos and destruction."

"So what was the outcome of all this? I'm guessing what we see ahead of us" Lara added in.

"Ah yes indeed, the barrier that had formed around the city though protective, had a serious flaw. The boulders piled on the barrier; one by one they sealed the city into eternal darkness, never to see light again. The barrier faded, the guardian remained and hid, whilst the structure of the boulders held tightly, not allowing anything to escape nor come through. In essence, all the people of the city were buried alive, sealed in darkness for many years. Some say, that the wizard whom summoned this beast, is actually the beast itself, protecting it for an eternity as long as it lives and the city still stands..." Ayesha was cut short when something strange occurred.

Just then, Ayesha's GPS device screen began to fuzz out of control and thereafter three seconds completely switched off, she was not able to turn it on again.

"What just happened? Why did the GPS suddenly turn off!?" exclaimed Ayesha, as she kept bashing it with her palm.

"Hmm, didn't Tom say before that the drill machines above stopped working as they got deeper underground? So it can't be a coincidence... I believe this ruin has some sort of presence that jams electronic equipment. Oh blast, this also means that we can't contact Tom by radio" Lara said and Ayesha got her radio out.

"I'll give it a try; you never know it could still work for a while"...

"_Tom can you hear us, over"..._

"_...Just...Barely..."_

"_Tom, we've found an incredible discovery, the lost city of Mystiaja, over"_

"_...Say...That...Again...Discovered...What?"_

"_The lost city of Mystiaja, over"_

"_..." _There was no more reply from Tom as the radio stopped responding.

"Great, now the radio is gone, we can't call for support if we encounter anything down there" Ayesha waved her hands in disbelief of their luck with the gadgetry, however Lara shrugged it off.

"Well, we made it this far, let's carry on, see what we find down there" Lara stated, knowing they didn't need the aid of gadgets. She made it through many adventures without them, and this one wouldn't be any different. Furthermore they were equipped with weapons if they were to encounter anything, so it didn't matter.

"Right on!" Ayesha positively said agreeing with Lara, as if she read her mind. They left the GPS device and the radios up on the cliff surface, as they intended to go back the way they came in if all goes well. They got out the ropes given to them by Tom, attached their full round hooks into the rock, wrapped the rope in the loop and begun to carefully rappel down the cliff.

The two ladies managed to get down to the city grounds with no trouble. It felt like a ghost city, the smell wasn't pleasant, and all they had were the brightness of their torches. There certainly was a chill about it, even though no one had been there for centuries, but as Lara and Ayesha walked through the dusty streets, they felt the history behind it. They passed through what seemed to be a market, as a few stalls were still standing, though they had seen better days. If there were any fruit or vegetables that were sold back then, nature had of course taken action and they had biodegraded away. Nothing was there...

Other buildings were unidentifiable due to them being unrecognisable at this time. If either Lara or Ayesha had spoken a word, their voice would echo and bounce of the ancient walls in the area around them. Nothing lived down there, only the foul air around them, and they knew it was inhabitable. The only lead they had was the knowledge of knowing a material of some sorts had dwelled down here and the source was somewhere. After an hour or two, both Lara and Ayesha began to doubt if they would find anything in the ghastly dead city at all.

They took a break and sat down at one of the fallen slabs that were lying on the sooty floor. Drinking the bottled water, Ayesha looked down on the floor taking in whist Lara still scanned around the area that they were in. No colours were present in the city. A single colour was all that was there and that was a dull grey, with no single trace of a clue to lead them where they want to be. However their fortunes changed when everything seemed to be lost. By some kind of miracle, Lara randomly shone her light onto the ground, and there came a sign.

"Ayesha! Look! A trail of leaking liquid, I wonder if it's the same material as the ones we seen on the photographs" Lara took a closer look, and indeed it was to her delight. In response she gave two thumbs up at Ayesha.

"Ah ha, some breadcrumbs to lead the way! Let's follow it!" Ayesha happily said, being glad to hear good news at last.

Following the trail of pouring liquid, Lara and Ayesha found themselves stumbled across something grand. At long last, they found not only where the source of liquid came from, but also a peculiar looking shrine-like building still upstanding compared to what's left from the rest of the city.

"I say that this is must be 'the temple' at which this magician must have prayed in thousands of years ago" Ayesha theorized as she continuously gazed at the rich structure.

"Ha, hey I was about to say that too!" Lara laughed, wrapping her arm round Ayesha's shoulders with Ayesha doing the same to her as well.

"What are we waiting for! Let's see what's inside!"

"Wanna race?" Ayesha asked, raring for some competition against Lara.

"You're on!"

"Ready...Set...GO!"

With anticipation of what they were to see inside, both Lara and Ayesha took off in a run against each other. A burst of energy filled Lara as she went as fast as she can. Ayesha was a good sprinter, but she was no match for Lara's experience she'd gained over the years with sprinting her way out of danger, and built up fitness stamina. She reached the vast doors first, and smashed them open with little effort thanks to her speed. Only a couple of seconds behind her, Ayesha came running in, exhausted and breathing fast.

"Phew! You're good Lara, but maybe one day I'll beat you!"

"Hehe, until that day comes, you better get practising!"

"I will once we have finished our business here"

As soon as they swiftly recovered from their race, Lara and Ayesha studied the interior hall of the temple, taking note of the abnormal mystic objects placed on stands. A medium sized gold/stone fountain covered in dust was situated right in the centre, still operating correctly, but there was a crack in the stone pool. This crack was the cause of how the whole mystery began, as liquid was still pouring out of it and leading out into the abandoned city.

It didn't take long for the duo to discover a valuable artefact on top of the fountain. It was covered all in a crystal-like substance, but it didn't seem to be crystal. For sure it was the source of power to the fountain and the reason as to why the liquid looks strange and unique. Ayesha got out a woven cloth from her backpack, luckily it was big enough to wrap around the mysterious treasure, and she took the artefact from the fountain very cautiously. Lara was in deep thought as she watched Ayesha taking the artefact from the golden fountain and putting it into her rucksack. At that precise moment the water stopped running from the fountain, and she couldn't hold her silence any longer...

"Ayesha, I've been thinking about that story you were telling, with the magician..."

"Yeah"

"Sometimes in myths there is a lie which hides the actual truth. As we journeyed through here, it's been growing on me, and now seeing this artefact, I can't repress it from my mind."

"Do tell Lara" A curious Ayesha said, interested to hear what Lara had been thinking of during their trip to the temple.

"Okay, what if I said that the magician in the story had an ulterior motive, let's say that instead of protecting the people of the city, he was in actual fact defending this temple and the treasure from any sort of damage. So as the rumours suggested, he himself turned into this beast he'd summoned to create the barrier to protect the temple from total annihilation. I think that the beast itself is the guardian of this artefact on the fountain." Lara explained to Ayesha, and as she did, Ayesha nodded her head.

"Do you know I think you may be right, looking at this treasure, it seems off that this precious artefact is still here I wonder..."Ayesha's sentence was soon cut off by an outburst outdoors.

All of a sudden, a horrific cry came from outside, piercing both Lara and Ayesha's ears as they had to use their hands to protect them.

"RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW WWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"What in the name was that?" Ayesha cried out, as they looked towards the doors of the temple.

"I dunno, but we'll find out one way or another..." Lara replied, believing what they were about to encounter was the guardian of the temple. It had awoken from its sleep knowing there were intruders in the city.

Lara drew her dual signature pistols, while Ayesha drew out her .45 calibre pistol. They made sure that they were reloaded and ready for firing, and finally turned to each other.

"On the count of three Ayesha, we'll face this monster... are you okay?" Lara asked worryingly, seeing her friend and partner trembling a bit.

"Yeah just a bit frightened, I didn't at all expect that outcry, and I'm scared as to what it could be out there!" Ayesha answered, looking down on the floor, taking deep breaths. Lara put her hand softly upon her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I am too, but we'll face it together!" Lara confidently said, reassuring and lifting Ayesha's sprits up.

"Yeah, you're right Lara, okay let's do this!" Ayesha said, happy to know Lara was by her side.

"1...2...3!" and with that Lara and Ayesha ran straight through the temple doors, ready for some action.


	8. Attack of the Nightmare Phoenix

**-Attack of the Nightmare Demon Phoenix Guardian**

Looking from right to left and above upon the buildings, the duo couldn't find the monster they had heard outside from within the shrine. Aware that a sudden strike can fall upon them at any moment, Lara and Ayesha took opposite sides to each other, to suss out the whereabouts of the enemy. Suddenly in the darkness, Ayesha spotted red ruby eyes shining brightly up on the roof of the temple, watching them intensively.

"Lara! Over There!" Ayesha shouted out, in response Lara swivelled round and saw the same gleaming red eyes that were watching them closely. As soon as it knew it got the full attention of the two pursuers, it flapped its wings vigorously, ready to dive and attack them full on.

"Shoot It!" Lara called to Ayesha, as they quickly trained their weapons on the unidentifiable fiend.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The winged unknown monstrosity swooped down at a speed that almost pierced and cut through Lara's body. Fortunately, in the nick of time Lara foresaw this aim from the creature, and dived to her left, missing the beak of the bird. As their torches still shone, they moved them to directly see what their adversary was. The light allowed them to see it was a large bird creature, with an aura of fear and shadow. It was covered with midnight black feathers, with a fiery purple tail. Viciously it circled the two raiders, planning its next line of attack, only this time it was thirstier for bloodshed.

"Ayesha! It's a phoenix! I recognise the figure in many mythical scripts, though this one is different..."

"More demon-like compared to a normal one!"

"Yes! Quick! We need to defeat it! I don't want to find out what it has in store for us!"

Forever more they kept trigger happy on their pistols firing at the dark phoenix, but it seemed to have little effect upon the bird. It was at that point, Ayesha saw the winged creature looking like it was charging up, preparing for an unnatural attack on the duo.

"Lara! Find cover, it's gonna unleash something horrible!"

Lara and Ayesha ran their separate ways to find some cover from the upcoming assault, with Ayesha taking herself behind a demolished standing wall, whilst Lara took refuge at the back of a large boulder. This should provide enough protection from the impact blast the bird was about to make.

The time had come for the phoenix to release its brutal spell upon the two humans. A focused overdriven beam shot out of its mouth and immediately blasted the wall Ayesha was using as a shield. Beginning to crumble apart, the bricks splattered out of place onto the floor, leaving Ayesha vulnerable for another blast. Quickly Lara reacted to help out her partner, bringing out the crossbow and loading it up with an arrow from her pouch. She pulled out from her cover aiming immediately at the dark demon.

Instead of the body though, Lara took full accurate aim at the bird's blood eyes, and paired to the precision of the laser sight, with one arrow she'd successfully hit one of the eyes. Thanks to this move, the bird was caught off guard and veered it's targeting off completely into the other direction, missing Ayesha by a long shot. It gave off a howl of a cry in pain, as it had become blinded in one eye.

"WRAWRWAR!" It roared in anger. Revenge was now on the agenda for the beast, as it was determined to stop the two thieves at any cost. They were indeed a challenge, but it was still an almighty monster. It flapped its wings aggressively high, reaching up to the underground peek to where it was well hidden in darkness. It was there not only to recover for a brief moment, but also imagining what it has in store for the two adventurers to endure.

"Ayesha, are you okay?" Lara came over to Ayesha, who had frozen still from the look the phoenix gave at her before Lara intervened.

"Yeah, that was a tense moment, thought I was a goner for sure, thanks"

"No worries. Well, it's not over yet, that thing is still living and probably conjuring up another attack for us" Lara said, looking above to see if she could find where the demon was at.

"What shall we do? Our weapons are useless. It's like the beast has steel armoured feathers to deflect our bullets. Yours was an impressive lucky shot right into the left eye" Ayesha pointed out.

"Unfortunately Ayesha, I think that's our only way. So here's the plan, blind the phoenix, then give it everything you've got" Lara said with a smile. Ayesha smiled back at Lara, and they split up once again, one going opposite direction to each other. They had something up their sleeve for the bird.

Two long minutes passed, and there was no sign of the phoenix at all. Both the ladies were wondering what was going on, did the bird go back to the nest and give up, or was the dark monster preparing to unleash a hideous spell. It was all too silent, only at certain times the sound of flapping was heard up above...

Then as the duo were about to come out of their concealed places, the shadow phoenix had built up enough charge to make its move. Its fowl scream filled the broken city walls like a high pitched supersonic wave, and it began to dive down in an aerial strike mode, beak first heading right in the middle of the long abandoned streets. At a high speed, it drifted in and out of the shackled buildings, seeking its enemies to kill with one final blow. However what it did not expect was the two jumping out from their hiding places very swiftly as it was flying pass.

BANG! Ayesha landed a direct hit on the last red eye on the creature, and it whaled out in agony and frustration. It slowed down because of this, all the phoenix could see was nothingness, and even though it had lived in the city ruins for many years, the creature did not know where to manoeuvre around to. Paired with not knowing the positioning of the two humans, it didn't have enough power to foresee where they were. The demon had to recharge and regain its exhausted power although that would take time which the fiend didn't have enough off. Just as it was about to react and retreat away, the nightshade phoenix became bombarded with ammunition and firepower from the intruders.

"Great shot Ayesha! Now let's give him everything we got!" Lara said applauding Ayesha's efforts and spurring her on.

"Let's go!" Ayesha cheered along with Lara, as they reloaded their pistols with fresh clips and went trigger happy against the now blinded dark phoenix.

Acknowledging that it wasn't going to survive this ordeal, the phoenix had one special move before it gave up to the two humans yet. It was going to be the swan song of the bird, one last final performance that would surely mean the end of not only its existence, but also the intruders as well to its untamed mind. Now was the time to make that action...

Witnessing the bird from the ground, Lara and Ayesha suddenly saw a burst of brilliant flames ignited underneath the body in mid-air. A drop of burning fire exploded onto the floor growing from a small patch into large field, engulfing anything in its path. Overseeing what the bird was planning, and without a moment's hesitation for a stopping thought, Lara and Ayesha ran as fast as their legs could take them away from the fire, not wanting to be burnt alive to a crisp.

The carbon smoke gradually arose from the flames, intoxicating and filling up the underground cave, if the duo were caught within its breath, they were sure to suffocate and choke to death. Passing the rows of old out of date skeletal structures, Lara and Ayesha did not look back even once, they kept their focus on getting to a safe enough distance, well away from the dangerous black smoke. They must have sprinted a good 500 metres, leaving their legs excruciating in pain from the built up lactic acid in their muscles. It was a run that saved their lives. Panting and taking deep quick breaths, Lara and Ayesha turned around to see the conclusion of the last given attack. Luckily for them the pursuing of flames ended behind them and extinguished, the result left the phoenix's power waning and fully used up.

Many formerly leftover ancient constructions were caught in the blaze, none left intact and were now nothing but ash and dust. How unfortunate 'twas, an old lost city that had masses of memories, now all wiped out in a flash. Research on the city was now no longer viable, any evidence was near to all destroyed, leaving only Lara and Ayesha being the only two people seeing and bearing in the remains of Mystiaja. All was now lost in the fire, except for the two humans...

As the dust began to settle, everything soon became clearer in the underground cave. The duo happily saw each other still standing though sweating from the heat and exhaustion.

"Phew! That was a close one!" Ayesha breathlessly said, as she looked over at Lara's direction, seeing her too taking a few deep breaths.

"Yeah you're right, it was indeed..." Lara said until her sentence was suddenly ended by a low vocal.

Their sentences to each other were cut short abruptly again by the sound of the dark phoenix, but this time around instead of it howling with full strength and power, there was only a small growl. Overwhelmed, the creature huddled itself together with its wings and was wallowing on the ashy floor suffering from the damages not only from the two ladies, but also to the utter harm it had caused to itself. Lara and Ayesha walked over to the beast, and drew out their pistols. They took a moments silence and then they delivered the final three shots to the shadow phoenix, ending its long enduring life here in the lost city. Victory was seemingly theirs, though a series of unexpected events happened in a flash of white light waves...


	9. Dreamland

**- Dreamland**

"Where am I?" Lara heard her thoughts cry out. All she could remember was the bright white light that emerged from the deceased phoenix body...and then a vortex sucking her body and mind into it. What had happened!? Where was she!? Where was Ayesha!? There was no sign of her...

Lara was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by an empty space and strangely hovering in mid-air. Nothing was there; no feature or no sound was made. It was simply a nonexistent reality full of...nothingness. Lara looked all around, but everything remained the same as before, and as minutes flew by, not even one spec of the environment changed.

'How on earth did I get here? Is there a way out? What if I'm trapped here...eternally forever!?' Lara continuously asked herself, even without knowing the answer to the questions. But Lara knew there was always a way out, you just had to search for it, nothing was impossible.

Out of the blue, Lara's answer came forth. A man dressed in a mixture of purple/yellow robes walked calmly towards to where she was floating. He was an old man, with a great beard and strikingly orange eyes. He looked with his enchanting eyes piercingly into Lara's hazel eyes, studying her deeply, like reading a page in a book. After a lengthy few seconds of examination, Lara had enough of the silence and wanted answers.

"Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?"

The old man gave no indication at what he was going to say or do next. Instead unexpectedly at Lara's point of view, in that precise moment he just snapped two of his fingers together.

All of a sudden, a flood of memories came pouring into the space they were in. A dense forest grew around them and a mountainous range began to develop, rising up from the ground. It was as if someone was painting and colouring afresh on a blank canvas with vivid paint and watercolours. Finally a small settlement had started from small beginnings as four straw huts, until the settlement expanded greatly over time into a village, and from then on became a large metropolis.

Lara knew that she was seeing the history of Mystiaja in its full glory, right before the natural disaster that had fallen upon the city. The city was majorly populous, people going about through their busy days and normal everyday life. Lara was nothing but a ghost to them, some even walked straight through her as they were nothing more than preserved memories. Lara turned her floating body an entire 360 degrees to take in the whole atmosphere of the thriving city. That was until she spotted something out of the ordinary happening near the temple.

Two hooded figures wandered out of the shadowy street corner of the city, looking from left to right, being wary if they had been followed. Carefully but speedily, they hurried along through the crowds and stepped onto the stone stairs of the recognisable temple. One was bearing a wrapped item in their palms. The other knocked harshly on the red/golden crystal decorated temple door. There came a hesitation's pause and thereafter came an answer from the creaking widening from the door, Lara listened in closely...

"You're late..." A low irritated voice came from the proud humongous doors.

"I know, we were delayed along the way, you know it's hard travelling such a long range"

"You weren't...followed were you?"

"No, we've kept a close eye on any suspicious activity in the area, but there was none"

"Good, now there are important matters to discuss, please come inside so we are not overheard..."

That was when Lara first saw the person whom answered the wanderers as he finally stepped out of the temple. She looked upon the man, taking note of what his facial features and how he dressed. Instantly she noticed a resemblance to the person standing in front of her who'd still remained quiet. Lara broke the silence between them once again.

"Hang on... Are you the magician that summoned the phoenix in the myth of the lost city many years ago?" Lara asked the mysterious robed man whom was overlooking the forgotten city longingly. The man began to speak in English with a heavy accent.

"Yes...I am. I have come forth into your mind through making you unconscious and your friend too. This is just a dream to you, for I am not of this world anymore. Listen carefully to what I have to say as time is short, and I will no longer be part of this universe..." He closed his eyes and begun to chant.

"_Long ago there were three...Three mysterious relics, unnatural power hidden within, believed to be not of this world...They were separated from each other given to three guardians ...For those who have defeated the guardian..." _He stopped his chanting of words quite suddenly and then smiled at Lara.

"Hmm, you find out the rest one day if you continue this journey, but let me give you one piece of advice..._Don't let your lust and temptation overcome you_. Now I must go and leave you one final clue to where the next relic lies..." He next lifted his right hand high, and swiped through the air. As he waved his hand across, glowing in yellow light were scripted writings in a particular language. She read the script and instantly, Lara recognised the writing, it was in the Arabic language that she knew quite well...

"_Knowledge of this language is the key to what you're looking for, somewhere in the Sahara_" It had said. After reading through, Lara glanced back at the man.

"Farewell" He bowed respectively at Lara commending her for defeating him in his phoenix form, with her doing the same for the challenge he gave, and then he walked off into the distance.

Taking once last gaze at the glowing script before it faded away, Lara knew where to find the next artefact. She kept the writing in her memory and hopefully she could be able to recall it later on. From this enigmatic encounter she had learned a few useful things to keep in mind. There was more to this than meets the eye. But still there were a lot of questions unanswered, which would no doubt be solved along the way.

Lara began to feel herself drifting away from this dream vision she was having. A whirlwind gradually turned the virtual world and thoroughly washed away any sort of evidence or mark of it. Until it eventually fully vanished into a vacuum, Lara woke up from her dream and returned to reality.


	10. Out Of The Ruin

**-Out of the ruin**

Lara awoke from her unconsciousness, very soon feeling the uncomfortable pain from lying on the dusty hard floor. She arose quite weary from the ground and took a good look around in her environment. Everything had remained the same as before when they were fighting against the phoenix guardian. Lara next turned her attention over towards Ayesha, who probably had the same visions as her, but even still she continued to have her eyes closed shut.

'What could be happening to her?' Lara frighteningly thought, as she didn't want her friend to succumb into a forever state of sleep.

Slowly Lara went over to Ayesha's side and gently tapped her shoulder, until her eyelids began to open up in their own time.

"Hmmmm..." Ayesha groaned out as she began to raise herself from the dusty floor.

"Ayesha, are you okay?" Lara asked and supported her friend, who was still a bit drowsy and struggling to get up.

"Yeah... I think so, how about you?" Ayesha rubbed her eyes from the dimensional sleep she just had; she gave out a good stretching yawn too.

"Same, but just a bit crept out at what I had just dreamt off... I didn't know if it was just my imagination or something more...weird"

"I know, it was too surreal, did you see the mage and get the message he said? I don't know much of the Arabic language, so I didn't know what the message was."

"Ah ha, I managed to decipher it and translate to what it had said" Lara gave Ayesha a thumb up and a wink.

"Wow, there's more to you than meets the eye, so what did it say?" Ayesha said in astonishment of Lara's knowledge of the language.

"It said from what I gathered this, _Knowledge of this language is the key to what you're looking for, somewhere in the Sahara__" _Lara answered her partner, as Ayesha looked like she had her thinking cap on.

"Interesting, I suppose in that area there may lay a hidden temple. But the Sahara covers a massive area, how on earth are we suppose to find a temple in the desert sands!?"

"Beats me, but we'll worry about that later on, I don't think there is anything else here, so let's get outta here!" Lara shrugged, and pointed to the cliff that showed the exit of the deceased city.

"Yeah, it's time to move on from here, I'm ready for some outside air!" Ayesha nodded in agreement.

"Right on!"

Lara and Ayesha dusted the millions of gathered up particles off their clothes and looked for a way out. The environment had drastically changed, thanks to the fight against the phoenix and anything that was within its path during the battle was destroyed. Luckily for our two adventurers, they worked together and moved most of the debris blocking the way forward. Both had reached the cliff from where they previously had come down from over an hour ago, and started their ascent upwards to the ledge.

Helping each other out, by supporting one another up onto the cliff ledge, all Ayesha and Lara had to do now was to pass through the dreaded tunnel filled with razor sharp traps. Knowing where the traps positioning was from the last time, the duo used that to their advantage and had little to no trouble avoiding the nasty bladed saws. At last, the smell and feeling of fresh air fell upon the two adventurers. The sunset was now in clear view, as it was only a few metres until they were out of the underground.

Surprisingly as the two ladies exited the mine, they were greeted with a semi-circle of crowded people giving them a huge round of applause all around. Lara was certainly not used to this, and it felt like a very strange experience to be congratulated when leaving a tomb. She gotten too used to leaving a dangerous tomb having completed her objective with either little fanfare, or giving herself a little pat on the back, but nothing on this scale. It was a nice feeling indeed, but too out of place for her. Lara looked over to see Ayesha's reaction to the positive reception they got, and she gave a little chuckle at what she saw as she went all red with embarrassment, her hands holding onto her lips.

"Welcome back Ayesha and Lara, glad to see you've come back in one peace!" A very happy Eric Copper called out to the ladies, as he finally emerged from the cheering crowd.

"Why thank you, we've got lots to tell and a new artefact that we've picked up along the way now within our possession" Ayesha told Eric Copper, who seemed indeed very impressed. She removed her backpack and got out the treasure, removing part of the cloth that was covering it. Lara watched Eric Copper's expression, as she saw a gleaming glint in his eyes, obviously fascinated at what he was seeing...'Fascination that could turn into obsession' Lara quickly thought until her process was interrupted by Eric Copper, who turned his longing attention away from the precious artefact.

"Excellent, come let us celebrate our new discovery over a feast at the hotel, you both must be starving!" Eric Copper stated to the two ladies, and they both looked at each other smiling.

"Famished" Ayesha answered.

"Same here" Lara said soon after.

"Right, let's make our way to the vehicles, please follow me" Eric Copper told the duo and he began to walk towards the crowd of workers.

The crowd made a path for the trio to walk through without any disturbance. In no time at all they reached the parked 4x4s that had brought them here in the first place.

"Hop in!" Eric Copper opened the door for the ladies and as soon as he got into the car, the 4x4 sped through the jungle. Lara and Ayesha won't forget what the guardian had told and advised them, as they looked back through the window of the dense forest one last time.


	11. A Large Celebration Banquet

**- A Large Celebration Banquet**

It wasn't a long car journey and for the second time, Lara and Ayesha were staring at the grand entrance of the hotel of where they met up earlier in the day. During the trip, the girls updated Eric on what happened underground, finding the mysterious temple, how they faced the demon phoenix, and how they had a strange vision after defeating the guardian.

"Our next destination now lies somewhere in the Sahara, no doubt that is where we'll find another artefact like this, or maybe something more..." Lara finished the explanation, with Eric stroking his chin in deep thought, planning and formulating his next move.

"This is fantastic news! When we get back to the hotel, I shall alert one of the company branches in Egypt to set a search party in the desert. We will use the latest advancements in technology to scan in stages the desert land, and we should have a full report in three days. For us, we will be staying at the hotel for the night, and hopefully by tomorrow morning, my private plane will be ready to take us to Egypt."

The car parked up outside the stairs, and on cue the driver opened the back door for the duo and the front door for Eric Copper. They went up to the reception desk, and were greeted with a smile from the receptionist.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"Good Afternoon, have you got the room keys for Ms. Croft and Ms. Christensen?"

"Yes, I have them right here Mr. Copper" The receptionist picked out and handed over two keys to Eric Copper.

"Excellent, thank you very much" He gracefully thanked the receptionist, and then he turned to the duo's direction.

"Right then Ayesha and Lara, you both have separate rooms in the hotel, so you can relax and refresh yourselves ready for our meal later on. May I have the artefact please, so my research team can study the mysteries behind it?" Eric asked Ayesha, who still had the object in her possession. Ayesha gave a hidden look, to which Lara in that moment spotted on her face. She knew that Ayesha really didn't want to hand over their discovery to Eric. But in the end, Ayesha got it out and handed it over to him. Lara had never seen Ayesha gave an expression like that before, luckily Eric didn't see it as his attention was fully on the mystic artefact.

"Thanks" Eric said though it was more like a whisper. He then handed over the two keys for the duo.

Ayesha and Lara took their respective keys, and took a quick glance at their room numbers. Lara was in room number 98, while Ayesha was in room number 57.

"Cheers Eric" They both said together.

"No worries, if you follow the stairs or elevators they should point you in the right floor to where your rooms are. Now if you don't mind being left on your own, I would like to rest up before our dinner together, if that is okay with you?"

"Not a problem, what time are we meeting for the meal?"

"Around seven, no later than that"

"Alright, see you tonight then"

They departed in their separate ways, Lara and Ayesha headed off to the staircase leading to the first floor, whilst the businessman went in the opposite way. It didn't take long until they were right on the doorstep of Ayesha's room number, around the central hallway of the third floor.

"Well, this seems to be my room, I think I'm going to take a nice deserved shower after that little adventure!"

"Okay Ayesha, I think I may do the same as well. All righty then I'll knock on your door around five to six, for when we are scheduled to meet up for dinner with the others, that alright with you?"

"No problem. See ya later!"

Ayesha unlocked the door and went inside, leaving Lara on her own to find the room she was designated to be in. A sign next to the stairway had pointed Lara up the stairs to the upper floors, where the range of rooms included her room number. She followed the directions, and to the right, ten doors across, there was indeed Lara's room.

Inside was a luxurious living area, featuring a very comfy four poster bed, a premium on-suite bathroom, two cushiony large sofas, a widescreen 26 inch LED television, some well polished and looked after furniture with a bowl of tropical fruit on top of one, and finally a nice balcony view, overlooking the region. As well for top marks in service, her luggage was delivered to the room and was left on the surface cleaned laminate flooring. It was as if they had already planned for her to be in that room, even before she had arrived back from the jungle. Though a bit questionable, Lara thought nothing of it, and continued to admire what the room had to offer. 'Gosh, this feels more like a holiday then an adventure,' Lara thought, as she took in the magnificent view from the balcony. After a reflection, she then decided it was time to visit the gleaming shower.

Lara started the shower and once it became quite a nice warm temperature, she stepped in and took a bathe in the downpour of aqua water. A few minutes later, Lara came out of the shower, and wrapped a towel around her to dry up. While waiting for this, Lara looked through her packed belongings, knowing she must've taken along with her an evening dress just in case an occasion like this came about. It didn't take long for her to find a suitable classy outfit that was nicely folded in her luggage. Lara took it out and hung it on one of the handles of the main wardrobe, ready for tonight.

For the meantime, Lara temporarily wore a dressing gown that was provided by the hotel, and then lazily slumped onto the comfy four poster bed. After closing her eyes for a few seconds, and feeling the cozyness snug of the mattress, duvet and pillows, she looked over to her left side. The time shown on the digital clock on the cabinet next to the bedside was 4:30, two and a half hours to go until this formal supper. At first, Lara had the idea of going into the marketplace nearby to have a little wander, however soon after this thought she'd unexpectedly fell into a deep snooze.

"...Hmm..." Lara mumbled, as she started to open her eyes from her little nap. Immediately her hazel eyes caught the sight of the time.

"Blast! I'm going to be late!" Lara annoyingly thought to herself, within an instant she rushed to her evening dress for the night. Quickly, yet with patience, Lara put on her dress and prepared herself for the banquet. Once she was ready, Lara stepped out of her room, and made her way towards the second floor, heading towards Ayesha's door.

Knock knock...No reply...Knock Knock! ...Still no reply...What was going on?

"Ayesha!?" Lara called softly near the doorway, not too quiet and not too loud, someone would've heard her call, but yet again there was no answer. Time was getting on, and Lara knew Eric Copper wasn't one to forgive people being late. She decided to go after waiting for a response from Ayesha for at least three minutes. Lara thought maybe Ayesha had already gone downstairs without telling her, but there was a part of her saying that she wasn't going to be there.

"Ah Lara, glad to see you again, I must say you look very elegant" Eric Copper said as he stood below the staircase with a smile awaiting Lara's presence. He was not only admiring her punctuality, but also how radiant she was for the night ahead.

"Thanks, where are we going to dine?" Lara replied, glancing around briefly to see if Ayesha was around before returning her focus to Eric. There was no sight of her anywhere...

"Right this way, we are with the directors and some promoted workers of the company"

"Have you heard any news from Ayesha? I tried her door, but she wasn't answering"

"She delivered us a message saying that she had taken ill. I'm sure this is only a short spell of illness, but it is unfortunate news to me that she won't be joining us tonight..."

"Yes...though I find it a bit odd, she seemed fine when I left her"

"Hmmm, my only guess would be that it had slowly crept upon her until the effects started to become serious...I wouldn't worry too much, I'm sure we will see her in the morning. Anyway, shall we go through?" Eric theorized, and pointed Lara into where they were going to eat.

Lara had taken a seat close to Eric Copper and his directing team, though she felt like a stranger at the table. She wished Ayesha was there to keep her company, as she didn't know most of these people to well. Whilst the guests decided to where their places were going to be for the evening, Lara took the opportunity to study the dining room. It was a beautiful decor, with exquisite furnishings, a vastly carved ceiling and a grand fireplace warming the entire hall-like room. Some nice soothing music was playing too creating a calm feeling, which just added more to the atmosphere of the place. The amount of food that was offered on the table was an impressive selection. So much choice and variety, it could have even fed a table full of around fifty people, even though there were only around sixteen present.

"Before we tuck into our glorious feast, I would like to propose a toast and congratulations to Ayesha Christensen and Lara Croft, for their bravery, courage and determination through the mine we had discovered days before. Our reward was the amazing artefact they discovered within a historic temple, to which our research team is currently uncovering the potential of this relic. Unluckily Ayesha cannot make it tonight due to illness, but let us raise our glasses, and say to Ayesha and Lara!"

"Ayesha and Lara!" They all shouted in glory, raising their crystal-like glasses and then they drank the champagne content from them. Lara blushed a little from the praise, but she just smiled at the others, as they applauded her. Straight after the commendation speech, all began to select what they wanted and started to eat their course.

Throughout the dinner and afterwards, the conversation over the course of the night had varied. There were discussions all around ranging from current affairs in the news to company business and finances. There was even a point where Lara was asked about her background and how she got into adventuring, and everybody listened attentively, some even expressed how intriguing her story was. The night event had slowly drawn to a close, with the guests leaving one by one, retiring to their rooms for sleep. It was near past midnight, and Lara began to feel herself getting more tired, and even started to yawn out.

"I think I'm going to head off to bed Eric, I can feel myself nodding off to sleep, thanks for meal and the speech" Lara added, rubbing her right eye.

"No problem, you deserved the recognition tonight. Alright then, good night Lara, see you in the morning" Eric nodded with a kind smile.

"Good night" Lara tiredly said, as she exited the dining room and headed up the stairs.


	12. Sneaking Into Room 57

**- Sneaking Into Room 57**

As Lara walked up the stairs, she kept thinking that something wasn't right with the absence of Ayesha at the banquet. She halted on the second floor, to where she and Ayesha walked through the hallway only hours ago, and looked over to the door. 'Hmmm, I wonder...'

Lara tried knocking on the door to see if this time around she would get a response at all. Unsurprisingly just like earlier on that evening no one answered the door, except Lara was not going to just leave it as it is. She even tried the door herself, but it was locked from the other side. There must have been a reason behind the door as to why no one was answering, since Lara knew Ayesha was not the kind of person to ignore calls. Lara sought to find out if Ayesha was even in the room, and started to plan how she was going to get though, without alerting either the hotel staff or even especially Eric Copper.

Whilst thinking of a plan, in the spur of the moment Lara randomly eyed a window pane at the end of the corridor, and then the answer to the problem came to her. Though risky, Lara proposed she rappel down the hotel wall with the assistance of climbing gear she'd brought along, just in case she required it. Luckily Ayesha's room was just two floors beneath her own, so she didn't have to descend too far down. She swiftly rushed up the stairs and went straight into her room, knowing full well what she was going to do.

Lara changed her clothes from the evening dress to her black latex body suit, not only to blend more into the night environment so she couldn't be seen so easily, but also to make movement simpler. Once she equipped the climbing gear on her person, Lara was ready to rappel down the building. She opened the window onto the balcony, and checked below to see where her destination laid. Most of the hotel windows were lit up with bright light shining through the curtains. This would make the descent more challenging, as if Lara accidently went over these panes, her shadow would be cast through the cloth of the curtains.

Determining the whereabouts of Ayesha's window from the balcony, Lara judged this from where she was, and picked out from what she could guess would be her target. She attached the anchor onto the balustrade of the balcony, and then fastened a harness with a rope threaded around her waist securely. Along with attaching the locking carabiner to her harness, and assessing how far down she had to go, Lara took a deep breath and dropped down.

Immediately the rope stretched, but it held itself together thanks to Lara's expertise and experience on climbing equipment, and she clenched onto the strong cable tightly. Looking down to where she needed to be, Lara reeled even lower, getting closer to her objective, yet still minding where she put her footing on the wall.

'What was that?' Upon hearing the noise from one of the hotel rooms, Lara hid herself in the shadow that was casting underneath a nearby platform. Peeking over to have a look at what the noise was Lara saw a female person talking on their room balcony to someone in their suite, undoubtedly her partner. They were discussing what had happened in a local restaurant to which where they both had dined in prior to that very evening.

"Did you hear and see that couple on the table near us? They kept on complaining about the service and food and making sure the whole place had heard of their misery woes! Going on and on all night, very inconvenient, almost spoiled our night out" the lady carried on, obviously not very happy as Lara saw her folding her arms in disappointment.

"Yes darling, I did my best not to take notice, but they were so loud, and I wholeheartedly have to agree with you about them." A male voice came from the interior of the room.

"Dear, oh dear, no wonder the staff looked all embarrassed by the outbursts from them, they were horrible people"

"True, well at least we had a nice late night dinner, my was top-notch, I must say complements to the chefs after what they had to deal with tonight"

"Yeah, mine was alright too..." She gave out a big yawn, and stretched her arms out.

"Oohh, bedtime I think for me!" the lady told her companion.

"Me too, it's gonna be a busy day tomorrow" He said in reply, and with that, Lara overheard her footsteps and she kept her stance low for that moment.

...

Lara took another stealthy peek above and saw the lady going back inside the room. She waited until she had heard the sound of the closing balcony doors before moving on. Carefully Lara moved onwards towards Ayesha's balcony, and it didn't take too long till she reached the balcony slab platform. There, she let go of the rope and tied it to a nearby pillar, so if needed or any danger comes to her, she could easily make a quick escape.

The moonlight from above in the sky had given enough light to see, particularly in areas that would have been masked by darkness. With it nearly being quite late in the night, most of the hotel guests were tucked up in bed fast asleep. This was exactly what Lara needed, as she peered through the window pane glass of Ayesha's room, and was astonishingly surprised to see that no one was there...

There was no light within the room, the bed sheets had still been made up, Ayesha's belongings were not even out and her suitcase was barely opened upon the mattress. It was all too enigmatic...

'Where is she?!' Lara became evermore increasingly worried for her friend. She would've understood if Ayesha was in deep sleep from her supposed illness and wasn't able to answer the door. But seeing nobody there infuriated Lara, someone was deceiving her one way or another. In the mist of her frustration and tightening her grip on the balcony door, Lara was in a shock to find that the door suddenly swung wide open, and realized that it had just been left unlocked.

'Oh, how strange, let's see if there any clues to be found' Lara thought, as she took her first step inside the suite. Lara had a good look around the room for any clues that could lead her in the right direction, however to her dismay there was nothing to be discovered in the space.

'Blast! Nothing!' Lara cursed, as she still wandered around the room, desperate for any sort of breadcrumb clue to show itself, so Lara could follow it.

'Perhaps she has gone out for a walk?' One of Lara's first guesses was, as she didn't want to think what else could have happened to her. Lara was even planning to look in the grounds, however it was too late in the night to go out, and if she was spotted wandering outside, it would be all too suspicious. Lara decided it would be best to wait until morning to find out her answer, as there was nothing she could do anymore tonight.

The trail of Ayesha's whereabouts had gone cold. Knowing this, Lara left everything untouched and went back to the balcony. Ascending up the wall using the rope and retreating back into her room, Lara would see what tomorrow will bring, and she'd interestingly pondered whether Ayesha would show up or not for the morning. Either way, Lara will demand to have her questions answered, as all this doesn't seem right.


	13. On The Way To Egypt

**- On the Way to Egypt**

The morning sun rose in the sky, as the sunlight from above shone through the curtains of each occupied room in the hotel. This lightly awoke Lara from her sleep, and she rubbed her eyes to shake off the weariness from them. It had been an eventful evening, but Lara was ready for whatever today was going to throw at her. Remembering for what she saw as an empty room yesterday night when she rappelled down to Ayesha's suite, Lara was particularly curious to know whether she would turn up for breakfast or not.

After a shower and a change into some casual clothes, Lara made her way downstairs to meet up with Eric Cooper and the rest for breakfast.

"Good morning Lara, I hope you slept well." A smiling Eric Copper greeted Lara as she came down the hotel stairs.

"And a good morning to you Eric, yes I did thanks very much, how about you?" Lara replied, returning a smile back at him.

"Yeah not too bad thanks, you ready for some breakfast? Ayesha is waiting for us in the dining room. She has made a good recovery from her illness yesterday." Eric explained to Lara.

"Good to hear Eric, I'm glad to know she has recovered. I am also intrigued to know what she had gone down with before. Alright then, lead the way Eric." Lara added, as they proceeded onwards through the reception hall.

Lara followed Eric towards to where they held the exquisite banquet last night; the whole dining room had been cleaned up over night and prepared for the morning meal. The other guests of the hotel were either present at the humongous set out table, or were probably still in bed fast asleep.

As both entered the room, there indeed in Lara's field of vision at the corner of the table was Ayesha having a bite to eat of her breakfast while reading a newspaper. Ayesha didn't even take notice of Lara as she stood there with Eric Cooper and carried on reading through the text of the papers. It was not until she sat down beside her that Ayesha noticed Lara's presence.

"Morning Ayesha, what happened last night? I was told that you were taken ill that very evening after we went our separate ways." Lara asked, she decided it wasn't best to tell her that she'd sneaked into her room last night to check if she was alright.

"Morning Lara, sorry I wasn't present at the banquet last night, but yeah as they said I became too ill to attend. After I took a shower, I just felt really tired and started to feel unwell. I can't really explain what it was, and to be honest after I sent a message down saying that I wasn't too well, I think I just fell straight to sleep and didn't get up until 6:00 this morning!" Ayesha explained to her.

Lara nodded with what Ayesha had say, listening closely to her explanation. But in fact Lara was unconvinced and already knew that somewhere along the line in her reasoning, Ayesha wasn't being truthful. Because of this, Lara became even more wary and distrustful of Ayesha, and she knew there was more to this than meets the eye. However, Lara kept that to herself, and she carried on the conversation.

"Ah okay, well I'm happy you're feeling much better now." Lara replied, giving a weak smile to Ayesha.

"Thanks same here...I wonder what we're doing today?" Ayesha added, as Lara drank some of her orange juice and then started to eat her breakfast.

By this time, Eric had caught the essence of the conversation between Lara and Ayesha. He soon afterwards stood up and answered the question that was on everybody's mind who was involved in this adventure of discovery.

"Well everyone we have brilliant news, thanks to our discovery in the jungle, we are heading to Egypt today! Once we've all finished breakfast, we will get ourselves ready to depart from the hotel." Eric happily announced at the table. Everyone cheered at the statement, as they all finished eating their breakfast and then they had begun to depart back to their rooms.

Lara got her belongings together from her room, and headed back downstairs into the reception area. From there, people were gathered waiting for the cars to arrive to take them to the airport. The time was now 11:05 as Lara saw on the main clock in the reception, and there was still no sign of the cars on the hotel estate. Eric Copper, who was stood near the doorway kept glancing at his watch and then looking outside with growing frustration. Finally the 3 cars had parked up just outside the entrance of the hotel, and the main driver came dashing up the stairs.

"Apologies for the delay Mr. Copper, we had to take a few detours as some of the roads were closed due to maintenance." the driver said with exhaustion from running up the stairs as fast as he could.

Knowing that Eric didn't like people being late, and seeing his frustration earlier, Lara was expecting him to shout at the driver. However instead Eric reacted differently and spoke in an assuring manner.

"Well no matter, it's only about 20 minutes late, and we still have time to catch our flight at the airport." Eric shrugged, and then smiled at the driver. The driver was in quite disbelief at what he had just heard, but he nodded and smiled back to his employer.

"Thank you Mr. Copper, now is everyone ready to depart?" the driver asked with some relief in his voice.

"Yes, I believe we are all ready, let's go!"

With that, everyone who was involved with this expedition picked up their luggage and began to leave the hotel. One by one they entered into either one of the three cars that was present. Lara followed the small cue through to the hotel exit, up ahead she saw Ayesha and Eric waiting for her there. They went to one of the parked cars and once the driver had started the engine, they followed on with the other cars to the airport.

The journey to the airport didn't take as long as expected, and soon they were once again within Eric's company aircraft, making their way to Egypt. It was going to be a 6 hour flight from India, and they were scheduled to arrive around mid-late afternoon. As before, the specialised plane was arranged uniquely having different cabins and two main areas, one was a lounge type of area and the other was where conference meetings were held. Lara wondered how many of these exclusively designed aeroplanes Eric had in his possession.

"Hello all, we have a range of refreshments like drinks and snacks onboard, may I take any orders?" One of the cabin members inquired to the passengers.

Each person present in the lounge had ordered at least one drink, and they sat down on the comfortable chairs around the large space. A variety of jazz music was playing through the speakers, and it was at least 10 minutes since they departed from the airport, when out of the blue a question came up amongst them.

"So Mr Copper, any news from the team in the Sahara Desert?" Matthew Corbin asked; he was the leader of the technology division at Eric's company.

"We haven't received any word yet, but I believe that the team will find something very soon, it is a huge area and we don't really know what we're meant to be looking for."

"How would we know if we found the right place?"

"We shall search through the area thoroughly, if there is any clue or anything trying to conceal something important, we will know. Tim Lampshire, head of our research team is currently in Egypt, having travelled there yesterday night he is overseeing the search until we get there later on today."

"But...It might take months, even years until we find something." Jennifer Brown, the managing director of the company pointed out.

"Time is just a factor that we have to ignore; we must find the next piece of this puzzle..."

"Why though? Why go to all this trouble?"

"I believe we are on to something big here, and I am eager to find out what we could discover from all this, it could be something... marvellous."

From this Lara knew that Eric had been told something very recently about the artefact, she could tell by the change of tone in his voice and the look in his eyes as he said that sentence. She did not hesitate to ask what it was he had been notified on about the artefact.

"So what did you find out about the artefact me and Ayesha found in the ruins?" Lara enquired to Eric.

"As of yet nothing much, but I have been informed by our researchers that it holds a mystical power that hasn't been truly unlocked. My best guess is that if we follow on from what you have both told us and find the other two artefacts, we will have the capacity to unlock this supposed power" Eric explained with interest, even though he didn't like the question.

"But if you were able to find out about this power that the artefacts hold, what would you intend to do with it?" Lara further questioned Eric. She could also see his reluctance in answering the question.

"We shall see... I can't really give you an answer at this point in time" Eric responded.

Though Lara was not surprised by the reply Eric gave, she quickly noticed Ayesha giving her a sudden harsh stare for a second after Eric answered the question. 'What's gotten into Ayesha? I've never seen her like this before' Lara thought, as she realized that she would have to keep a close suspicious eye on her friend once they get to Egypt.


End file.
